Hook or hanger.



S. B. BRAGG & A. L. REUSS.

HOOK 0R HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 19. 19:5.

1 ,1 85,587. Patented May 30, 1916.

WITNESSES. g Z l v %ENTORS fifim WW W 7 or ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIcE.

SUMNER BANFIELD BRAGG AND ALBERT L. REUSS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA.

HOOK OR HANGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1916.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SUMNER BANFIELD Basso and ALBERT L. REUss, both citizens of the United States, residing in the'city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Hook or Hanger, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a novel construction of a hook or hanger, which can be cheaply manufactured in large quantities and which can be readily forced or driven into the wall or other surface from which it is desired to suspend the picture, ornament or other article, the construction and proportioning of the parts being such that the weight of the article suspended will cause the spur member which enters the supporting surface to more firmly and effectively engage said surface, said hanger having an upright member or body preferably terminating in a head, preferably in line with said spur, for the application of a hammering implement thereto, while the lower portion of said upright member or body is shaped so as to enable the hanger to be readily disengaged from its supports by blows on the bottom of said shank, so that the blows upwardly on said bottom will cause said spur to emerge positively upwardly right-lined from the place that it occupies without distorting the said shank or the hook proper thereon or cracking said surface.

To the above ends our invention consists of a novel construction of a hook or hanger, which can be cheaply made out of sheet metal and can be readily driven into the supporting surface, and wherein the weight of the ornament or other article suspended will tend to retain the downwardly, rearwardly extending spur member of the hanger more firmly in position.

For the purpose of illustrating our invention, we have shown in the accompanying drawing one form thereof which is at present preferred by us, since the same will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instumentalities of which our invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that our invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

,Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a hook or hanger of sheet metal embodying our invention. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same, showing the manner of securing it to the supporting surface and the manner of utilizing the hook member thereof.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings :1 designates our novel hook or hanger, the same comprising an upright shank member, bar or body portion 2, having at the upper extremity thereof a head 3, said head being preferably in alinement with the spur or downwardly, rearwardly projecting member 4, which is pointed at the end 5 so as to enable it to be readily driven by a suitable implement or pressed or otherwise forced into the contiglllgus wall or other supporting surface, as

The lower portion of the upright member, bar or body portion 2 is provided with the terminal or flattened portion 6, from which extends the upwardly and outwardly diverging member or terminal or hook 7, whereby a recess 8 is formed between said diverging member 7 and said upright bar 2 for the reception of the cord, wire or other suspension device 9 attached to the picture, ornament or other article which it is desired to suspend.

We preferably make the spur 4 of such length that when inserted in position, it will pass through the plaster l0, and its extremity 5 will engage the wood or lathing of the supporting wall, and it will be apparent, that the inclination of said spur and of said terminal 7 may be varied according to requirements, said spur, body and terminal book being integral and formed from a single piece of sheet metal.

It will be seen that our device can be readily and instantly inserted in the desired position by hammering or pressing upon the head 3, which will force the spur 4 into position. As the hanger is driven into a wall or otherplace the right-lined back of the shank will gradually contact with the front of said place below the spur and so wedge thereagainst from the angle at the junction of the shank with the underside of the spur downwardly whereby the hanger will rest fiat against and tighten on said place without liability of the hanger to turn. lVhenit is desired to remove the hook, it can be readily done by tapping or hammering upwardly on the bottom wall 6, which forms a surface for a hammer head directly below the shank 1 in the same vertical line so that upward blows may be imparted to said shank in the right-lined direction of the same and consequently of the hanger, and it will be further apparent that the weight of the article being suspended, will cause said spur to more tightly engage the supporting surface.

In the manufacture of our invention, the same can be cheaply produced in large quantities by being punched, pressed or stamped in one piece out of thin sheet metal, whereby great tensile strength is attained in the direction of the longitudinal pull on the device, and it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the metal from which our device is constructed may be of any desired thickness or any desired material, and the finished product may be burnished, plated or otherwise treated, without departlng from the spirit of our invention.

While we have shown the upper edge of the spur 4 as forming a continuation of the inclined top of the head 3, and the sharp portion or point of the spur as being formed by beveling the under side thereof, this construction can be deviated from, if desired.

The lower portion of the shank has a forward extension 13 from the outer end of which rises the member or limb forming the book 7, between which and said shank is the recess 8, as hereinbeforc specified, said extension forming with said lower portion of said shank a broad bar, which firmly supports said hook and forms a strong support for the base wall of the recess 8 on which the suspension device 9 is hung, while the bottom edges of said bar and shank form the broad base 6 for receiving the blows of a hammer or other tool directly on said base to cause the shank, and consequently the entire device to rise perpen dicularly without bending or deflection and cause the incline spur to draw out upwardly and obliquely from its place of application Without fracturing the plastering, wall paour novel hook from a solid flat piece of steel or similar material and providing the fiat shank, bar or body portion 2, provision is made for a name or trade-mark to be stamped thereon, which would be practically impossible on a hook wherein the body is made of small wire.

By constructing the device out of one solid piece of steel, without bends or twists or holes therein, the device is much stronger than similar devices made out of wire, since wire hooks must be constructed from very soft wire in order to bend to the desired shapes and forms without breaking. On this account, wire hooks hold Very little weight without straightening out, and wire hooks of soft enough wire to form or bend without breaking will become distorted and are apt to make an ugly appearance on the wall after driving them in with a hammer, and, furthermore, after a wire hook is removed from the wall, it is generally liable to be distorted in shape, and, being useless is thrown away.

The flat metal hook of our construction produces a neat, strong and least conspicuous hook, and by reason of its construction, is practically invisible a short distance therefrom. By making the support or downwardly and rearwardly projecting member 4 flat, the hook is prevented from turning or moving after it has been driven into place and the pictures or other articles suspended are dusted, whereas hooks made from one or two pieces of wire are liable to'rub against the wall and eventually wear through the wall paper and leave a spot at the bottom or heel of the hook.

It will now be apparent that we have devised a novel and useful construction of a hook or hanger which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while we have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described our what we claim as new and desire by Letters Patent, is

A hanger of the character stated consisting of a vertical shank, a spur on the top of said shank, the same extending rearwardly therefrom in downwardly inclined inventior, to secure direction, the top of said shank presenting being formed integral of sheet metal in a surface vadapted to receive a driving blow comparatively the same vertical plane.

in alinement with said spur, a bar extending forwardl from the lower portion of 'said fi g g BRAGG' shank, t e bottom edges of said bar and shank forming a broad blow-receiving sur- Witnesses:

face, and a limb rising from the outer por- FRANKLIN D. CLARK,

tion of said bar, the several members named LOUIS KOCH.

{Contact this patent my be obtained tor nve cent: each, by addressing the commissioner of mum.

Washington, n. c." 

